After The Sunrise
by Be Patient
Summary: Ever wondered, what would happen if your dreams come true? One boy was to find out in his new life After The Sunrise...contains eventually Renamon/OC as well as appearances from characters of season 01
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon **

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

**Prologue**

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><p>What are dreams?<p>

Feelings? Visions? Things, which will give you a Déjà-vu, when you face those situations? Some are nightmares, some will make you happy, while others make you sad. And sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and can not believe what you just dreamed. Well, one boy was to find out, what it meant, when his dreams came true...

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><p>The morning light shone through the open window, birds sang their morning song and the leaves of trees were swaying in the wind. One brown and a silver eye opened and caught sight of the ceiling above them. For a few minutes they just seemed to stare into nothing particular, but then they gained focus and the body, which belonged to these eyes slowly rose from his lying position into a sitting one.<p>

The dreams, the nightmares became worse with every night. Sometimes it was "just" his dead that he saw, but all the other times he witnessed the destruction off the whole world and unimaginable pain came with it. He not only saw the world dying, but felt it as well.

"Honey? Are you up already?", a voice called from downstairs, but no reply came, "AIDEN? ARE YOU UP ALREADY?" it rang a second time from below, but this time with much increased volume.

Aiden Harper, that was the boy who owned that strange silver eye, finally began to stand up, but in thought he was still vividly living the destruction of the world ...again. Even if he slept always long, very long in fact, past midday was definitely no rare occurrence, Aiden never found peace and happiness in his sleep and no rest either. Instead he woke up with a feeling of loneliness and despair. He hated this dreams, he really did, but could do nothing about to change it.

"I am up Olivia, no need to shout", he yelled back, "I'll be downstairs in a few minutes, but I would like to get dressed " he added, but the last part only in thoughts.

"How often must I tell you to call me mother or mom or something like that?" There was no reply to that question, but Aiden just couldn't call her mother, he was not ready for it yet. Olivia was his surrogate mother, he lost his real parents because of a horrible car accident, which gave him that strange silver eye as well. Ever since he was broken and hollow, although he tried not to show it. Deep inside of him he knew, that he would be never the same person as before, but then again how could he? It is not, that this kind of things just happen, you loose some very important persons of your life and after it´s over, you just brush it up and continue like before, that was not how life worked. It was the exact opposite. Since then he had those nightmares.

He thought back how life was, when he still had his parents, his REAL parents. Aiden was a carefree, happy child back then, always good for jokes and fun things, in short he was happy. If the old Aiden could see his desperate new self, he would faint on the spot, probably hit his head on some edge of a stupid table or break his neck because of the fall. At least he would be spared from his "bright" future.

But that was not the situation. Aiden walked slowly, and very alive, over to his mirror and took a look at himself. He was relatively tall, about 5.9 feet, with short, dark brown hair, and one green-brown colored eye and of course the silver one. Besides that he had a little scar just below his left eye, which was the silver one, thanks to the accident.

"Funny, my parents are dead and all I got was one little scar and a silver eye", he thought ironically, "Not even a broken bone or other wounds, only that. Fate really must have a lot in store for me."

He looked kind of scary with the silver eye and the scar, but normally he would wear a contact lens to hid his scary eye, not because he was ashamed of how he looked, but because he didn't want all the people to constantly stare at his eye. He just wanted to evade all uncomfortable situations, but then again, his scar was eye-catching enough already. The boy wasn't ashamed for that either, in secret he found it looked cool and very fitting on his face. In fact, his appearance gave him, coupled with his I-don´t-care-about-what-you-and-others-think-about-me attitude a special immunity to the bullies of his school. Ah yes, school. Many kids and teenagers hate it, even more despise it, sometimes even the teachers. Aiden visited the 11th grade, with his sixteen years a normal age and apart from his look and behavior, he was quite normal. Average to good in school, he came sometimes to late, was no one to make trouble and had to participate in detention from time to time, because of not doing his homework. His life was just average and he hated it, no he despised it. His real parents were gone, he survived just by luck or some horrible joke and after all that not even his life was exciting. Aiden hated it and wished something would happen, that would make his life exciting or at least anything to fill the hole in him, which was the loneliness he encountered day by day. If he would have known that his life was going to change forever, he might have thought otherwise. Be careful what you wish for, it could be come true.

Back in reality Aiden still stood before the mirror, sighed once and started to get dressed. Like many other days, too, he wore plain white boxers together with light blue jeans, black socks and a black t-shirt. Justice and love was written on either side of the shirt in yellow letters and with ornamentation around each word. If someone would ask, why he had those words on it, he would just say, that this were his virtues he wanted to live after. He wasn't really successful in giving love to his surrogate parents though, but that would change, at least he hoped for it. A plain white cap and black fingerless gloves completed the outfit. The boy didn't know why he wore those gloves. They were pleasant and not to hot to either, because of the very slim design, but wearing gloves during summer? That earned him some strange looks, but he didn't care about it, he was used to it after all for the scar and, those who knew of it, his eye, which were the most people in his school and surrounding. Maybe he wore them, because his real father did?

The now dressed teenager strolled down the staircase, still half asleep he almost missed one step of the stair, which hat most likely resulted in a broken neck and his dead, with his luck, he wouldn't be surprised about it, but he regained his balance and continued to walk down, this time a little bit more carefully. Aiden was not afraid of death, in fact he attempted to commit suicide once, shortly after the accident. Back then he tried to hang himself with a rope, but in the end hadn't the courage to do so. That was now two years ago.

Arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he was in the hallway of the small house Olivia and Derrick Sanders, his surrogate father, owned. A short walk to the left and Aiden entered the kitchen. Immediately the smell of cooked bacon and eggs was to perceived and his mouth watered from the thought of Olivia´s delicious cooking.

"Morning." he greeted his surrogate parents and received a good morning back from both off them.

"Slept well honey?" Olivia asked, without turning to him. Derrick sat on the sofa and was watching TV, but besides the good morning he gave no sign that he acknowledged the presence of his son.

Derrick and Olivia adopted him, because they could not have children of their own and when they heard off his dilemma on the news, meaning without parents and nowhere to go, the two of them immediately took him in as their son. Aiden admired them for that, he wouldn't have done it, but he couldn't imagine that he would ever be in that situation at all.

"Yeah, not bad." that was an obvious lie and his parents knew it, they also knew about his nightmares, he told them once, but they went along and didn't say anything in response.

After breakfast was eaten and the dishes was cleaned, they all got ready for leaving the house. Both, Olivia and Derrick would go to work for an insurance company and Aiden had to go to school of course. It was Monday, the new start of a week for most people.

The door of the house was locked, everyone had a key, Aiden waited patiently for his surrogate father to drive out of the garage and his parents both got into the car, ready to leave.

"Are you sure, that you don´t want to be carried to school, my son? Derrick asked, while he maneuvered out of the garage.

Aiden winced at "my son", but he quickly hid behind his mask off indifference, not only to seem unaffected, but because he didn't want to upset his parents or make them sad, they were no bad people after all.

"No, I enjoy walking, but thank you though and have a good day, you both ...oh and before I forget, I will be home earlier today" No he wouldn't be home earlier, but he didn't knew of course...yet.

"Thank you honey and that's great for you", his mother said with a wink, " Have a nice day yourself." The car drove away and Aiden stood there until he couldn't see them anymore. After a few moments, in which he just stared into empty space, he awoke out of his trance and walked down the path, which lead to his school. One last time he checked if he had the contact lens in his eye, which he did and eyed his outfit for a few seconds in a window off a computer shop he just walked by. He did this often and often was this the reason, he would be late for school, because he wanted to change the shoes or the t-shirt one last time and for that he had to go home again. Aiden wanted to take the focus off his scar and gain attention through his outfit. And even if it sounds arrogant, he thought he looked good, even with his scar and his eye full visible he looked good in his opinion, he was fully content with his style, but other persons, not so much. He visited dozens of doctors, because he wanted to know why on earth was one of his eyes silver. Everyone said the same, namely that the Iris of his left eye was damaged and as a result lost it's color, but it was strange that he could still see with that eye and it was even stranger that he didn't feel any kind of pain at all, but all agreed, that he should be grateful for not losing his eyesight. He dropped the subject after that and bought a contact lens with color, to match his normal eye.

After one last look at his outfit and style, he gave a nod of approval and continued his walk, but suddenly he lost his balance the second time the day, but this time he couldn't regain it in time and fell face first on to the pavement, but luckily could bring an arm before his face. A groan of pain later, he opened his eyes, only to come face to face with a strange device. It was completely silver in color and had almost the shape off an egg. A few buttons and a screen and that was it. He picked it up and got back to his feet to examine it again a little closer this time. It was awfully familiar to him, but he didn't know from where. Then he remembered, that a former friend of him had one of this things as a toy, but made out of plastic and the one he held in hands... well, let's just say that it was certainly not made out of plastic. Also the friend of him spoke about that this thing was from a TV show called Digimon. He knew of it, though never watched it, but, what bothered Aiden the most, was that it wasn't supposed to exist in the first place, when it's from a TV show, so why on earth was that thing in his hands right now?

This question would be answered in a few moments, as a light beam came from the sky and engulfed Aiden.

"What the hell?" The boy asked as the beam took him higher and higher into the air. Shortly after he lost consciousness.

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><p>A feeling of dizziness came upon the boy as he slowly rose to his feet. His back hurt from lying hours and hours on hard ground.<p>

"What happened?" he asked himself, with a very shaky voice."Where am I?" Millions of question flew through his mind and he felt completely helpless at the moment. A short look around and he noticed that he was in a light forest and if nothing else, it was incredibly peaceful and after only some short moments the feeling of helplessness left Aiden and was replaced with a calm one instead, which allowed him to think about things rational.

_'Alright, apparently I found a strange Device, which obviously transported me here and now I am in a forest. Where are my... Ah good, I have still all my stuff. Books and paper will certainly not help, other than to make a fire maybe, but my pocket knife has to be in here somewhere... Yeah, found it'._ Someone might asked why he has a pocket knife in his backpack, but you never know if there is not someone hiding behind the next corner with the intention of kidnapping you. Better safe than sorry his new mother always said and gave it to him as a present for his 16th birthday, which was a few months ago.

With the knife in his hand and the backpack on his back, Aiden wanted to scout the area a bit and find a good place to camp for the night, the sun had already began to set, and collect wood for the fire, he would try to make. He was not stupid and therefore didn't even attempt to search for civilization or a village or something similar, because he knew it would be safer to rest first and search tomorrow and with that in mind he began to walk.

After good five minutes of walking, he suddenly heard a buzzing sound, starting small, but steadily became louder and louder and around the next corner, damn his mother was right in the end, floated a big wasp. No, not big, more like a giant towered it before Aiden, ready to kill him and surprisingly it spoke.

"Oh, how nice, that my next meal is coming to me, rather than I to HIM." With great emphasis on the word "him". The giant wasp began to drift slowly towards Aiden, who was just to stunned to move, or even blink, the knife in his hands completely forgotten and useless at the moment. But after a few seconds his surviving instincts kicked in and screamed at him to run with all his might, and he did exactly that. He turned on his heel and began to run for his life. Aiden was not one who liked to do exercises, but one sport he enjoyed to do, namely Parkour. He loved to climb and run and in this sport he could do exactly that. He even visited a sports club for Parkour for a few months, but left after the incident with his parents, completely uncomfortable with being around other people.

Behind him the wasp just made a sound of anger, that it's meal would try to flee. It would be in vain and the boy would see it early enough, but surprisingly, Aiden was fast enough to keep the wasp at distance and with the trees the thing had clearly trouble to navigate through the forest.

_'Shit, I can't run at this pace for much longer'_, Aiden thought _'Oh no, is that...?'_ That was all he could think before the trees vanished, only to make place for a clearing. In the forest he could escape maybe, but here? Impossible. The wasp obviously thought so, too, because she gained speed and started to come closer and closer. Right before she got him and the boy clearly thought he was going to die a huge explosion hit the creature in the side. It flew through the air and before it hid the ground, it exploded into what looked like numbers, with a flash of light. Aiden, too stunned at what just happened, failed to notice the ground shaking, he was just happy about his luck for once, but then he looked around and suddenly he acknowledged a huge dinosaur like creature before him and behind this creature apparently were standing eight humans and seven other creatures Aiden failed to recognize.

"What. The. Hell ?" he asked, eyes open wide and mouth agape, as the last rays of sunlight were visible on the horizon.

It was Monday, the new start of a week for most people, but for Aiden it was the start of an adventure he never would be able to imagine, challenges awaited him, but he was confident, that he could deal with them. New friends and enemies and a new life awaited him.

A new life, After The Sunrise.

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><p><strong>AN: This is it now, my first fan fiction here on . Feel free to Review and criticize and I hope you enjoyed reading this little Prologue. Apart from that we will see us in the next chapter, but until then...**

_Be Patient_


	2. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon **

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

With his mouth agape and eyes wide open, Aiden stood in front of the orange dinosaur. A few moments ago he couldn't believe his luck, when the wasp thing was eliminated through an explosion, but now he cursed himself for thinking just one moment, that he had luck. This creature probably wanted him just for itself as a meal and as said creature lowered it's head down to Aiden, the boy closed his eyes, not wanting to know, when exactly the dinosaur delivered the killing blow. His last thoughts was about just why the other humans didn't do anything to help him.

He waited and waited for the final moment, but was taken totally by surprise, when the creature suddenly spoke to him in a low voice.

"Are you injured?" it asked, with concern clearly hearable in _his _tone, because it was unmistakable a male voice, that spoke.

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><p>The group consisting of nine humans and eight Digimon sat around a small campfire. The day had now made room for the night, with the moon shining brightly above their heads. Each Digimon sat together with their respective partner and vice versa. Everything was silent, except for the crackling of the fire.<p>

After Greymon, apparently that was the name of the dinosaur, had rescued Aiden from the Flymon, the name of the wasp, the humans came running towards him and helped him to his feet and after that led him to their small camp a short distance away from the clearing at the edge of the forest. Tai, Matt, Joe, T.K, Kari, Izzy, Sora and Mimi were their names, how Aiden learned shortly after he introduced himself to them.

"So you are the DigiDestined that defeated some kind of evil Digimon and were sent back here, because the Digiworld is in danger once again?" Aiden summed up, what he was told during the last hour. As he spoke, he constantly turned his head to look at every human, as well as every Digimon. He had no problems in believing, that it was the truth. After you witness your parents death you accept much more than before, but he had trouble to keep all the information in his head.

Everyone gave nods of approval, but otherwise said nothing to him. Only after a few minutes, in which everybody was deep in thoughts, Tai broke the silence.

"So Aiden, how did you got here in the first place? It's not often, that you see a human chased by a Flymon through the woods?" Everyone turned their heads to the boy in question., who felt a little bit uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

"You see, I was walking to school this morning, when I suddenly stumbled and lost my balance." He stopped shortly to pull the device out of his backpack. "I fell and when I opened my eyes again, I could see this thing lying in front of me on the pavement." He showed them the item and everyone gasped in surprise. Their eyes widened and after the shock had been overcome, their expression changed to a serious one. The Digimon mumbled quietly with each other and Aiden, who had no idea, what that meant, just looked confused.

"Did I do something wrong, or what?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"No, it just means, that the digital world is in danger once again" T.K said sadly.

"Aiden", Matt continued, "What you hold in your hands is called a Digivice, we all have something similar, though our looks different." Everybody took out their Device and showed it to him. It was broader than the one Aiden possessed, almost white in color, only with a tinge light blue and had three buttons around a little screen in the middle.

"If somebody is in possession of such a Digivice, he is called a DigiDestined and if a new one is summoned, like you, then most certainly something bad will happen, that is for sure." Izzy finished, while looking at Aiden thoughtfully.

"Why is there always something new, that must be deafeated. It would be great, if the Digiworld could rest for once.", Kari added and everyone nodded in agreement.

"The one Aiden got, looks almost like Davis' Digivice, it's just a little rounder and i never before saw a silver one." T.K noticed with astonishment.

"But why me?...Wait, who is Davis?" Aiden wondered.

"Davis is a DigiDestined like you and why you were chosen... Well, no one can answer that question. Only children with remarkable qualities are send to this world to help." Sora answered.

"But I don't have any remarkable qualities or traits." Aiden disagreed. He was no hero, he was sure of that and even he couldn't fully believe, that he had to save a world from destruction. Maybe the nightmares, he saw every night, in which he witnessed the destruction of his world, was not the earth after all, but the Digiworld.

"We all thought the same, when we arrived here for the first time and we all discovered our traits gradually. I for example have the crest of courage" Tai encouraged. Aiden learned that all of them had one of these crests. Matt possessed the one of friendship, Izzy knowledge, T.K hope, Sora love, Mimi sincerity, Joe reliability and Kari the crest of light.

"But, tell us, where exactly is your Digimon partner? Did you met him already or where is he?" Joe wondered.

"Of course he didn't met his partner yet Joe" Matt rebuked annoyed "If that's the case, why would he be alone then?" Joe flinched together at the outburst and Matt, who realized his mistake, quickly apologized to him. Aiden watched the situation with interest, but he had a much more urgent question on his mind.

"How old have you been, when you've been here for the first time and how old are you now, if you don't mind me asking?" Aiden was sixteen years old and and he didn't feel all too much overwhelmed by the situation, but he couldn't imagine how horrible it would be for a child to be sent to a strange, unfamiliar world and then to be told, that you have to save it from death and destruction. It was irresponsible in his opinion to burden a child with so much.

Aiden was told, that their age was between eight and twelve years, when they were sent the first time here and between twelve and sixteen the second time, which was just a few months ago. Now most of them were sixteen, except for T.K and Kari, who were both at the age of thirteen. He nodded to show, that he understood and after that everyone was quiet again. The Digimon hadn't said anything towards Aiden, except for Greymon after his rescue, who was now de-digivolved back to Agumon, but he didn't mind. At first, the boy wanted to inquire, if there existed a way to get back to his own world, but obviously there was no and because the others didn't say anything in regard to that, he wouldn't ask himself.

"And what is the plan now?", he asked, "Are we going directly to the heart of all evil and kick some asses or do we have to do other things first?"

"It is not as easy, as you might think. First of all you need your partner and I suggest, for that we should visit Gennai, as well as to get some more information." Izzy proposed.

"Even if I don't know this Gennai, I will gladly follow your suggestion. I am the new one after all." Aiden said and after everyone agreed, they laid down to rest a little bit.

_'It looks like I finally get the excitement I yearned for so long. I just hope, that it won't turn out to be a bad decision to stay, but then again there is just no way to go home and to be honest I don't want to. Maybe I feel sorry for Derrick and Olivia though, they must be worried sick, when I didn't came home today, but I fear I don't care as much about it as I should. Those two are just not my parents and my home...well, I lost it together with my real parents two years ago. I wonder if mom and dad can see me right now and if they are proud of me...' _His eyes became wet and the danger of crying was all to present for him, but he suppressed the urge to do so. He had promised not to cry over his parents until the right moment came. Aiden wasn't sure when, or if at all, the right moment came, but he never shed one tear about his parents' death and he had no intentions of breaking his promise, just because he was a little taken aback by his own thoughts and with that in mind he rolled to the side and sighed heavily. He didn't expect to find good sleep or much sleep at all, but as soon as his eyes closed he was out like a light. No dreams haunted him that night.

_Mom, Dad... I hope you are proud of me._

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><p>The wind shot past her, as strong legs launched her from tree to tree. Occasionally she would rest to drink some water out of lakes and little streams she passed by, but as soon as she was finished, she would continue her mission. Sometimes Digimon would shout after her, either to greet or to challenge her for a battle, but she ignored them all. When Gennai asked for help, he would get it and when he asked <em>her <em>for help_, _then he would get it even faster. After all the debt screamed to be repaid.

Gennai helped her, back when she was just a Viximon, in battle against an evil Woodmon, who tortured her for no real reason, just out of fun. She made the mistake to stroll to far away from her hatching place and invaded his territory. So the poor little thing was held hostage over the next two months by the champion, but then the old man appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her and disappeared again. Woodmon, to stunned to do anything against it, just watched and let it happen. Over the next three weeks Viximon got her strength slowly, but steadily, back. Gennai asked nothing in return for the favor he did for her, but got her to promise that, whenever he asked for her, she would come to him without hesitation as fast as she could. And exactly that did she right now.

From tree to tree and, when no trees were in sight, on the floor, would she run or jump as fast as she could. Her sky blue eyes fixed on the horizon, where anytime now could appear the place she was asked to go. Others of her kind had purple gloves and symbols on their legs, but Renamon was born with black symbols on her legs and wore just one black glove over her left hand to better match them and she was not as tall as others of her species. Where others of her kind had two markings just below their eyes, Renamon didn't and had instead an elongated scar shortly below her left eye.

As the place came into view, she pushed herself a little bit more to be faster and ten minutes later she stood at the edge of a little stream. One big tree towered next to her, making the place easy to remember, because it was the only tree in the surrounding. The fox contemplated for a few moments, what to do next, since Gennai never told her, what she needed to do, when she arrived here, but Renamon's strain of thoughts was interrupted, when a light came. She had to close her eyes to protect them from the brightness, but a moment later it was gone and she could open them again. She blinked once and snorted.

"Easy enough." The vixen grumbled annoyed. She didn't like tricks like that, when running was so much simpler. Besides, if she had the skill of appearing and disappearing instantly anywhere and if she would actually _use _it, then she would probably get a little lazy and sluggish. A short look around and she knew instantly why she had to be teleported here. She was standing on a little island with one lone house in the middle and a palm tree five steps away from the small building. The island was made to ninety percent out of sand and only the spot below the house and palm tree was green, with a little bit of grass growing their. The vixen slowly approached the door and when she stood before it, was about to knock, but before she could do so, it had opened apparently itself. She sighed shortly, before stepping into the house and once she was inside the door closed on its own. Another sigh escaped her mouth and with that done, Renamon began to search for the old man.

_'Why does it always have to be so mysterious?'_ She thought as she walked down the hallway and looked into every room she found, but everything seemed abandoned and Gennai was nowhere to be found. _'He has to be somewhere around here. He wouldn't just call me so urgently and then leave his house... Would he?'_ Right after she thought that and found the last room inside the house empty, just like the others were, but then, the now familiar beam of light appeared before her and once it vanished Gennai stood in front of her, same as before, with the look of an old man with his big nose and the obviously not existing pair of eyes. _'Well...looks like he _would_ leave the house after he called me.'_ But that didn't bother Renamon, he saved her life after all and he was also a very...special person, so she waited patiently and gave no signs, that she would be angry with him for leaving her waiting.

"So we finally meet again Renamon. It's good to see you still in one piece, but I guess you have no problems with defending yourself anymore." He addressed her.

"You called for help and I came, now say who needs to be eliminated and I will find him and delete him." The fox responded, a little impatient now. She would always get straight to the point, was quick to anger, but was carefully as well. You can't fight, if you're dead. She never forgot this and she was certainly no one for unimportant smalltalk.

"Ah, but there is no need to rush things. All I ask from you is a little patience, so follow me and I will make us some tea and before you ask, no there is nobody who needs to be deleted, at least not yet." Without waiting for an answer, the old man walked surprisingly quickly to one of the rooms and with nothing else to do, Renamon followed him a little irritated. The room consisted of a little table with pillows around it to sit on, some carpets and a device to make tea, she guessed, because Gennai was busy working with the machine. After a few minutes, he was carrying two cups of tea, which he put down onto the table. Renamon didn't like tea, so she didn't move, when he motioned for her to sit down. For the moment deciding to stand, she just shook her head and leaned on the frame of the door, which led into the hallway. Gennai said nothing in response, instead he sighed briefly, before taking a sip from his tea.

"Is is too much to ask for, Renamon? A little patience? But I will tell you, why I called for you." He paused shortly, taking another sip and then asked, with his back facing the fox."Can't you imagine, why?" The answer came in form of another shake of her head. "Besides fighting? No. That is what I do best." The old man turned towards her.

"I know you love your freedom and exactly that is what I ask you to give away now." He received a look of confusion.

"A partner, Renamon. You need a tamer." He said and turned around again to take another sip from his tea.

Her eyes opened wide and with her mouth agape, she just stuttered. "W...What? I need a...partner? A Tamer? W...who?

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><p>Aiden groggily opened his eyes. Despite the fact, that he slept on hard, solid ground, his slumber was peaceful and uninterrupted. In fact it was like he was born anew. No nightmares or other horrific dreams or visions plagued his mind last night, so for the first time in over two years now, he felt rested. He loved the feeling. Slowly he climbed to his feet and brushed the dirt off from his clothes and took a glance at his surrounding. All of the others, were still sound asleep and with nothing else to do, he walked a little bit around the area. He hesitated shortly, thinking that maybe another wasp-thing or other evil Digimon might want to kill him, but decided then, that the thought was ridiculous, took his backpack and started to walk.<p>

The forest and his inhabitants were obviously still asleep, with the morning sun just barley rising over the horizon and Aiden stopped shortly to watch the rest of the sunrise. He loved to watch the sun rise and set every day. It reminded him always, that how dark it may be, how devastating the night may be, the sun would always brighten the world once more and banish the darkness, even if it would be just for the day. When the last two years of Aiden's life, was considered the night, then now would come the sunrise, of that he was sure, so he smiled and watched and after the sun had risen, he continued his way. During his walk he took a look in his backpack once again to check, if everything was still there. After he rummaged a little bit, his hands came across a small box and after he wondered shortly, what it may be, he just pulled it out and gasped. That was the box where he kept his contact lens! Aiden completely forgot about that and hoped, that it was still in his eye. He was already freaky enough for them, but with his silver eye as well...The boy noticed their stares during the conversation and they constantly looked at his scar, but tried to hide it. He ignored it mostly, although it bothered him a little bit. He was no rare art object in a museum, but he should have anticipated it. At home he got the exact same stares from strangers. At least the eight humans and Digimon resisted to ask questions about his scar. He would tell them nothing about how he obtained it, of that he was sure, but he didn't want to seem unfriendly either, so he was just grateful, that this topic was completely avoided.

Arrived at a small pond, the boy looked at himself in his reflection and sighed in relief. Two green-brown eyes stared back at him, but to make sure that his imagination played no tricks on him, he attempted to take the contact lens out of his eye, but stopped, when there was nothing to take out. He tried it again and again, but his finger made contact with his eye and not the lens, which was supposed to be there. He blinked a couple of times, to get rid of the tears and tried a fourth time, but again there was nothing. After he tried the same in his other eye, out of fear to have put it there somehow and no lens appeared, he took another short look at himself in the pond. There, where his silver eye was supposed to be, was instead an eye, that matched his other one, green-brown in color.

Aiden had no idea, how that could have happened and wondered briefly, if he was still dreaming, but he was sure he wasn't.

_'This world amazes me more and more. I got my normal left eye back, finally. I can't believe it, but I won't make any complaints about it, that's for sure.'_ He decided to keep it to himself for the time being and to wait a little bit, before he told the others about it, if at all. Maybe he could ask this Gennai or what his name was. With that in mind he made his way back to the campsite, still wondering, why his left eye had changed the color.

When he arrived back at the campsite, the others were already awake and ready to go. Aiden was told, that he shouldn't wander of alone, even if the forest looks peaceful, there are the occasional evil inhabitants, who just waited for such a chance to strike. The boy apologized and they continued their journey. He still felt weird, with the Digimon in his group, but he would have to get along with them sooner or later, if it was true, that he would get a partner in the near future. So, with that in mind, the soon-to-be-tamer started a small conversation with the one who saved him from the Flymon.

"By the way Agumon, I completely forget to thank you for saving my life. I owe you one." Aiden said with a wink towards the orange little dinosaur. "If it weren't for you, I would have ended as it's next meal for sure."

"Don't mention it. I'm sure your partner would have done the same thing for Tai." Came the answer back.

"That reminds me...", Tai began, "I wonder how your Digimon partner will look like Aiden. Whether it's a Digimon, we already saw before, or a completely new one...?"

"Are there any patterns, after which the respective partner is chosen for the DigiDestined and the other way round?" Aiden asked curiously. He wondered, if his partners' personality would be similar to his. If that's the case..._'For sure it would be fun'_ he thought ironically.

"I would like to know, if there are any, however the only thing we know is, that we instantly became friends with our Digimon partners, but other than that, we don't know anything." Izzy responded and everyone nodded in agreement and with that the ice was broken and small chit-chat started among the group. Aiden mentioned, that in his world, everything was just a show on TV simply called "Digimon", though he never watched it. He was surprised, that everybody else simply accepted it, without freaking out. They just said, that if there is a Digiworld, there is no real reason, why not other worlds shouldn't exist, too. However, Aiden was asked a few questions about his home, but when it came out, that no other major differences existed, the matter was dropped. Though he skillfully avoided every question about his family, either with a counter question or he told them about something completely different. No one seemed to mind that, so he just continued with doing so.

They told him about their first and second adventures, as well as about the Digimon and digivolving. They told him about, how Myotismon was defeated and how he invaded the real world. The boy took the information in, like it was water and he hadn't drank in days. Everything was new and exciting for him and he couldn't wait to be part of it, but what wondered him, was the fact, that he never heard anything about this and after he told the others about his concern, they answered, that apparently the Japanese government erased the memory of everyone, who was involved, except for the DigiDestined. How they succeeded with doing so, they don't know though.

Around noon the group came to the beach, from where they had to fly or alternatively swim across the ocean to Gennai's house.

"What? We have to swim the whole way? I can hardly believe, that you are serious." Aiden asked in disbelief. He did not have the strength, let alone the will to do so and the others probably not either.

"No silly, I will digivolve to Birdramon and Gomamon to Ikkakumon. We should be able to carry you all the way." The little pink bird, called Biyomon stated. With that said and done they traveled across the great see. Aiden was, along with Tai, Sora and Kari on top of Birdramon, whereas Joe, Matt, T.K, Mimi and Izzy were riding Ikkakumon. Aiden found it a bit unnerving to travel on top of a being, which he just met, but after a while he enjoyed to glide through the air. The wind rushed past them and they could see for miles, but given the fact, that they were just able to look upon water, it was relatively boring.

So for half an hour, they traveled across the ocean, while the Digimon, which carried them gradually became weaker and weaker. And only when the island, together with the little house, came into view at the horizon, they drew new strength. Another five minutes later and they were ready to land. However, as soon as everyone dismounted, the completely exhausted Birdramon, as well as Ikkakumon, de-digivolved back to their rookie forms.

"You two were great and you have certainly earned some rest." Joe exclaimed, while giving Gomamon's head an affectionate rub.

"Absolutely.", Sora agreed and hugged her partner, "Good job."

Aiden watched the exchange of affection with interest and wondered, if he would do something similar in the near future. _'They sure seem close',_ he thought and remembered the time before he lost his parents. Back then he was a very affectionate being. He would always greet his friends and family with a little hug, even in school. His friends always found that a bit embarrassing, but he didn't mind. It was not that he loved everybody as a boy - or girlfriend, just his way of showing affection and kindness and in his opinion a hug was a good way to do even that. Only after the accident he stopped that, just as he cut every social contact.

"So, what do we have to do to now? Should I say some words or hold my Digivice in the air to summon this Gennai?" Aiden asked a little bit excited. He just earned looks of confusion and disbelief.

"No." Tai simply said and the teenager waited for him to continue, but when nothing more came he asked a little bit annoyed. "Aaaaaand...?"

"Oh sorry." Tai said as he realized his mistake. "You just knock on the door." He continued, while rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, that's... simple" Aiden answered. With that said, he walked over to the door in an attempt to knock. One last time he looked over his shoulder towards the others. They nodded encouragingly and the boy turned back towards the door and knocked three times.

* * *

><p>Renamon stared in shock at the old man in front of him, but soon her look changed to anger and disbelief. Right before she started to shout at him, how stupid he was, to just suggest something like that, he held a hand up in the air, to stop the outburst, that was sure to come, if she wouldn't calm down enough.<p>

"I know that you're upset, but I recall, that you said you would help me, when the time comes." Gennai stopped shortly, but then continued. "I don't want to force you into this Renamon, but the Digiworld is in danger one again and we have to stop the darkness, before it's too late. Your assistance is needed, but you can't succeed alone. You need to team up for this. There is simply no other way." During his whole speech, the old man had looked her straight through the eyes into her soul and she was surprised how strong it had actually sounded.

Renamon looked back at him, her face completely blank without any emotions. Her anger and disbelief had vanished, as soon as he started to talk and for the first time, she felt threatened. At first the fox thought it was the old man, she was frightened for, but then she realized it was the darkness. She could feel it. She could feel a strong presence deep in her mind, made out of pure blackness. It was very small, in fact it was that small, that she previously just overlooked it, but not anymore. Now her mind was clear and maybe, just maybe it wasn't so bad to have someone standing beside her. It would be strange for her, of that she was sure, after all Renamon was alone all her life.

Companionship?

Completely unknown to her.

Friendship?

Likewise.

Many Digimon considered her as a fiend, but conversely was that not the case.

Family?

What is that?

And now she would experience all in one at the same time? She would have a companion, maybe a friend or even some kind of family. The thought intimidated her a little bit, but she was confident.

"I will help you and I won't do it alone." The vixen simply said, after whole five minutes, in which she talked to herself. The entire time Gennai waited patiently for an answer and now he nodded respectfully.

"When I will meet my partner?" Renamon asked, but right after she said that, she could hear how someone knocked on the door three times. She threw a glance towards the door and then back to the old man. He just smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here for you now the first actual chapter in 'After the Sunrise'. Read and Review and of course enjoy! For now I will try to update steadily on Saturday, but with school starting again, I might have some problems with doing so. I hope, that we see us in the next chapter guys, but until then...**

_Be Patient_


	3. Chapter 2: Partnership?

**Chapter 2: Partnership?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon **

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

* * *

><p>"Go ahead Renamon, open the door." Gennai said, while standing up. "I'm sure you want to meet your tamer." Said fox walked slowly towards the door, with the old man in tow. The hallway seemed to stretch more and more. She was excited, but hid it behind a mask of indifference. No one was to know, that the always calm Digimon could be made upset by something of that kind. So she strolled down the way, until she stood directly in front of the wooden gate, that lead most certainly to her destiny. She didn't hesitate to open the door, which swung inward with a squeak and then her eyes fell onto him...<p>

* * *

><p>After he knocked the third time on the door, he waited. Steps could be heard from the inside, together with quiet murmuring, but he couldn't understand any words. The footsteps became louder and louder, until they stopped directly in front of him, so it seemed. The door swung open and for him stood...a yellow fox, with a black sleeve over the left paw and symbols on its legs and sky blue eyes.<p>

* * *

><p>Renamon couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her stood a human, she expected that, but at least she thought it would be an adult, though she looked into the eyes of a child. Well, not a child, but he was no adult either. The human had brown hair, green-brown eyes and a scar below his left eye. <em>'Just like me',<em> she thought, but that didn't stop her rage. She accepted to be teamed up with somebody and she also accepted that this someone would be human, what she didn't want to accept is the fact, that a child should be her partner. The fox knew of the DigiDestined, like almost all other Digimon, but she always thought, that this humans were great warriors and not children or adolescents. Meanwhile Gennai arrived at the door, still with a hint of a smile flitted across his face.

"Welcome DigiDestined, welcome. Please come in." He gestured for them to step into his house, but before anyone made just one step Renamon asked in anger. "A child? My partner is a child? How could you betray me like that Gennai?"

"I did not betray you Renamon and I think you know that very well. Besides, is that a way to treat you partner?" The man in question answered her, while everyone else stared at the fox.

"Hey, I'm not a child!" Aiden exclaimed and took one step towards her, after he had overcome the first shock, of being so rudely welcomed.

"'Kid' works just as well." The vixen muttered, still loudly enough, so that everybody could hear her, but then paused shortly to calm down a little bit. She had promised Gennai to help and she wouldn't back down now. However, she felt betrayed and cheated, but decided to just go along for the moment. She could talk to Gennai later, at least she hoped she could.

* * *

><p>With every second he seemed to shrink more and more under her cold gaze. The fox was definitely female, that was recognizable from her voice, which called him a child and a kid. Maybe he was not an adult, but he was for sure not a kid anymore. Not after everything he had already experienced.<p>

Aiden responded nothing, when he was called a kid and the other DigiDestined and Digimon just stared at the vixen in shock. Having quickly formed bonds with their respective partners, nobody anticipated that.

"Maybe we should talk a little, but we won't do it here, so please follow me inside." The old man now suggested and without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and strolled surprisingly quickly inside. The fox like creature stared at the boy a moment longer, before she followed. After a few moments the Digidestined and their partners woke up from their stance of dizziness and they too got inside the house, leaving Aiden alone at the entrance.

He felt like somebody kicked him in his stomach. The words hurt him, even if he didn't show it. What did the fox knew about him? Absolutely nothing. She just called him immature, because he wasn't an adult; because he didn't look like one. She knew nothing about him and judged him only for his look, but the most important question was; why wasn't he angry about it? For two years straight now he felt hollow and alone and all the time Aiden kept his feelings inside. No one was to know about his past, though when the fox called him a kid, he became aware, that essentially he was exactly that. A child forced to mature faster than any other children in his age, but until now no one ever pointed that out for him and the Digimon did it, completely unaware with just one little word.

So the boy stood there in the entrance of the house, completely unaware about his surroundings and as a result overheard the footsteps, which came closer and closer. Only when the fox creature appeared in front of him a second time, he awoke out of his trance and looked at her. She still had this ice cold gaze on her face, but otherwise seemed to have calmed down a little bit. Now that he could examine her again, he noticed a scar below her left eye and that she was just a little bit taller than him.

For a moment the two just stared at one another, before the Digimon spoke to him, with an impatient tone in her voice. "Are you coming little one or not? We are waiting for you and I want to get done with it as fast as possible."

"You know, sunshine", Aiden began and her eyes widened at the nickname, "I don't think, that you can call me 'little one'. I am nearly as tall as you are..." Actually the boy was a little bit frightened. Her claws looked pretty sharp and her eyes narrowed dangerously, when he made his statement, but he wouldn't back off from her and therefore hid behind his mask of indifference.

"No one ever dared, to insult me in such a provoking manner and I strongly suggest, that you refrain from doing so in the future, if you value your life_ little one_. And now you will follow me inside!" Her voice was low and dangerously, while she spoke to him, but all the time he remained impassive, not even his eyes were twitching. Inside Aiden was terrible frightened, especially when she threatened him, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking, that even if she would kill him, at least he would see his parents again and with that thought in mind he was able to seem so unaffected by her statement.

So he replied nothing, nodded shortly and motioned for her to lead the way. The fox threw him another short glance of anger, but then turned on her heel and stormed inside, without waiting for the boy. Even if she didn't like him, she was impressed by his uncaring appearance, though she would be damned, if she let him know that.

* * *

><p>No sound could be heard from the group, besides the steady breathing of every being in the room. In front of everyone stood a cup of tea and the steam of the hot drinks rose slowly to the ceiling. No one dared to say anything to interrupt the silence, even Gennai just sat there and looked between Renamon and Aiden back and forth. Obviously he imagined things a little bit different, particularly, that the two of them may not necessarily like each other directly, but that they would accept each other at least. The human and the Digimon were engaged in a staring contest for whole ten minutes and neither of them wanted to be defeated.<p>

"I think we should start all over again." The old man finally broke the silence and the DigiDestined, except Aiden, nodded enthusiastically in agreement and so did the Digimon, save for Renamon. When none of the two counterparts moved and neither of them a sign gave, that they acknowledged them at all, Gennai continued.

"The Digiworld is in danger and you two have nothing better to do than to stare at each other? Is no one willing to swallow his pride and give up? I beg you Renamon and I remind you on your promise you gave me, please stop fighting." The old man finished with a sigh and a disappointed face.

"So your name is Renamon?" Aiden said without breaking eye contact with her. She just stared back and answered with a little smirk.

"That's the name of my species, yes and what is your name _little one?_" With great emphasis on 'little one' and another smirk.

"Aiden." the boy simply stated and after a short pause continued. "How do you want to get called? I certainly won't call you by your species name, that would be equally if I would call Matt or Izzy simply 'human'." She just stared back at him, without giving a sign of acknowledgment and after he waited for another few moments he added. "Okay, if you don't want to answer me...Well, I will simply call you 'sunshine' from now on, but only if it's fine for you." 'Sunshine' simply stared at him, with her lips curled back in an angry snarl and a death stare in her icy cold eyes, but still she remained silent.

"Though on second thought, I really don't care, what you think I have to admit. So your name will be Sunsh..." He was interrupted, before he could finish saying the name.

"STOP saying that name you little, pesky human." Renamon screamed and jumped up. Out of anger she took her cup of tea and threw it at the wall, where it shattered into a thousand pieces. She fumed with rage and everyone could see that clearly."I warned you to never call me again with that name and still you do it! Who do you think you are?"

Gennai remained passive, but the other teenagers and their Digimon backed up against a wall. They certainly couldn't believe that a Partnerdigimon, could be so difficult. Well, for everything there is a first time, but still nobody said a word. Aiden remained completely calm, he didn't even flinch at her outburst, but inside he was terrible frightened._ 'I may have gone to far this time' _he thought, but at the same time he was proud of himself, that he didn't show anything of his fear. He was aware, that she could kill him, if she desired so, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. He clung to the thought, that at least in death he would find peace and that helped him to remain indifferent. He smiled to himself, before he finally answered her.

"So, but if you don't want to be called 'sunshine', than why didn't you answer me, when I asked you, how I should call you?" He could see her eyes twitching, but she replied nothing.

"Still, no answer. I don't know if you know, how a conversation works, but usually you reply to one another..." he waited shortly, then continued. "Okay, if you don't like 'Sunshine', then I will call you...Let me think...I got, I will call you 'plushie'."

"That's it, you certainly have gone too far. First 'Sunshine', now 'plushie', but since I don't fell like killing you.." Aiden silently sighed in relief, if she wouldn't kill him, then she would just hurt him, but which pain was greater than to loose his parents? "...I will just discipline you a little bit, what do you think of that?" The enraged fox exclaimed with an devilish smile across her face. Now Gennai piped up, who watched the conversation with interest until now.

"No Renamon, I forbid you to do that. Violence is no solution to your problems." He said, but made otherwise no move.

"I don't care what you allow me and what you don't allow me. Promise or not, I will instill some respect into this little one here." The vixen answered and slowly moved towards Aiden, who just sat there and stared at her. Again she admired him a little bit for his impassive appearance, but that wouldn't stop her and she could see clearly the fear in his eyes, even if this fear was minimal. Renamon wondered, what in God's name he must have experienced to be so blunt, however the next statement threw her completely off guard.

"If you hit me, I hit you back." Aiden said that, without any emotion in his voice and everyone stared at him in disbelief. He was just a human and he wanted to punch a Digimon? To make it short...it's unhealthy to do that. Renamon however hesitated only for a short moment. This boy had guts, but that wouldn't save him now, so she continued to walk towards him.

"You won't stand a chance at me little one, so just surrender and apologize and maybe I will forget to beat you too hard. Besides you wouldn't dare to even try to hit me back." She said in a mocking tone.

"Try me." the boy simply answered. Meanwhile Renamon had approached quite close to him and stood now directly in front of the boy.

Aiden stood up and waited for her to strike. The fox felt a twinge of regret, as she looked in his eyes. She didn't like, what she saw in those green-brown eyes, namely sorrow, despair and loneliness, but after a moment she brushed it up and lunged at him, but with much less power, than she originally wanted. Still the back of her paw struck him across his cheek, with enough force to threw him onto the ground. The other Digimon and humans stared at the whole spectacle with utmost disbelief, while Gennai remained motionless.

"Gennai, do something!" Kari exclaimed now, but the old man just turned towards them and shook his head. In the meantime, Aiden got back on his feet and stared at Renamon and for the first time since he met her, he didn't saw the ice cold stare of her, instead he saw pity in her face and that made him angry. Aiden didn't want to be pitied and with that in mind he lunged back at the fox, which was too surprised to block the blow in time. His fist met her cheek and now it was her turn to stumble and finally fall to the ground. No one ever dared that and in this short moment, she realized, that he lost his will to live. Something terrible happened in his life and that was confirmed, when she looked him in the eyes. A lone tear were running down his cheek, which was red from her slap, but before any other could see it, he quickly wiped it away.

Renamon was surprised, that she didn't feel any anger and instead sympathy towards the being, which stood in front of her. She carefully climbed to her feet and sighed once before turning towards the boy, who had his fist still in the air and an apologetic expression on his face. No matter how hard she tried, the Digimon couldn't be angry with him, so she just looked at him and slowly extended a paw. Aiden flinched at first, but relaxed, when he realized, that she wouldn't hurt him again.

"I think we started wrong and I would like to start anew." She said, her paw still extended and ready for him to shake it. "So, you asked how you should call me and I think I will answer you now." The fox smiled at him and then continued. "My name is Renam... I mean, my name is Sunshine and what is your name?" She asked, despite the fact, that she already knew. It cost a lot of overcoming for her to say that, but after she did, she felt like she had done something good and she liked it, nonetheless, her ego suffered greatly from that.

Aiden took her paw, shook it and answered her with a smile. "My name is Aiden..., but you can call me little one."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this little chapter and I apologize, that this one is shorter than the last one, but it just felt right to stop here and i have to admit, that i had little to no time this week for writing. Otherwise read and review and we'll see us in the next chapter, but until then...**

_Be Patient_


	4. Chapter 3: Friendship

**Chapter 2: Friendship**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon **

"Speech"

_'Thoughts'_

Once again we find our group sitting in the small room, but this time no one was staring or insulting each other and instead focused on the little old man, who was standing in front of them.

Once they settled their little argument, both Aiden and Renamon were sitting next to each other, while holding their cups of tea. Renamon was given a new one, after she _accidentally _destroyed the old. The human and Digimon were feeling equally strange and embarrassed. First they insulted and slapped each other and now they were sitting close towards one another, due to the lack of space. The other teenagers and Digimon also got back to the table, while eyeing the strange couple with caution, in case they would have a slight variance again.

"So now that we finally calmed down-" The man in front of everyone started, but was interrupted by Tai "It's not our fault, but rather because of the two over there." He said and motioned with his hands towards Aiden and Renamon. Said two threw him a dirty glare for an answer, but otherwise did nothing.

"-there is something we need to talk about." Gennai finished, simply ignoring him. "I called for all of you, because the Digiworld is in danger once again. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I fear Myotismon has returned and he is stronger than ever before." He stopped shortly to collect his thoughts and everyone gasped in shock, save for the fox and the new Destined, which never heard of him. Quiet murmuring started among the group, but no one wanted to interrupt the old man, so it died soon after.

"Apparently, when he was defeated the second time as MaloMyotismon a tiny bit of him could escape into the endless darkness between our worlds and now he has enough strength to return, albeit only in mind. He has yet to gain enough power to acquire physical form, but it's just a matter of time until it's to late. You have to stop him, otherwise we will live in darkness soon." Gennai let out a small sigh, but then his gaze fixed straight on Renamon and Aiden. Both flinched at the sudden attention. "So I will ask you, can you overcome your prior disagreement and your pride to work together as partners? Will you help us for the general welfare of this world and the real world?"

Silence followed after he had finished, in which no one did as much as breathing. Renamon was the first to make a move.

"You already know my answer Gennai and even if I wouldn't have promised you to help, I would still give my assistance. If the Digiworld calls, then I will answer!" She stood up, but more likely to escape the small space, than to prove her point. Gennai nodded in appreciativeness, then focused his gaze on Aiden, who hadn't moved or spoken in the last few minutes. The others followed his example and now everyone looked at the boy, who still did nothing but stare into empty space deep in thoughts.

* * *

><p>Could he do it? Or rather, <em>would <em>he do it? Would he risk his life for people and Digimon he just met and which meant nothing to him? Aiden had nothing to loose, but that didn't mean, that he would just throw his life away. He still had a debt to repay for his parents, namely to live long enough, so that they could watch him from the stars above and he wouldn't disappoint them, of that he was sure. So he asked the question, that bothered him the most.

"Why?" He looked at everyone as he asked the simplest of questions.

"What do you mean 'why' ?" Gennai asked back. He briefly wondered if this kid was the right person for this task, although if he was chosen, then there was no doubt.

"I mean, I don't know any of you. You are complete strangers to me and so is this world. You seem friendly enough and you made a good first impression..." He threw a short glance at Renamon, who looked back at him with a furrowed brow. "... Well , most of you, but my point is, that why should I risk my life for people or Digimon or whatever, that I don't know?" He paused shortly, then continued with a lightly quieter voice than before.

"My life is precious, so I won't throw it away, just because you ask for it. I'm not so stupid to think, that it's like one of these films, in which the good guys will always prevail and the way you put it, it sounds like there is a major chance of being killed. So I ask again, **why** should I help you, **why** should I risk my life for you and **why** shouldn't I demand, that you bring me back to my world in an instant, for God's sake!" While he talked, his volume increased gradually and the last part he almost shouted, but for the first few moments no answer came back. Aiden forced himself to calm down a little bit. He knew it sounded selfish, but he didn't choose to be send here, he was forced into this. Of course back in his world and shortly after he arrived here the boy wished for something exciting to happen, but when it came to life threatening situations...Lets' just say, that it's something different then.

He flinched as he felt something touch his shoulder and looked, only to come face to face with the yellow fox, as she knelt before him, with a look of sympathy on her face and as she spoke was her voice as soft as silk

"I think you're long since came to the decision to help and said that only out of defiance and to seem strong, but please don't take that as an offense." She added the last part, as she noticed his frown. "I think you are a good person and even if you don't like me, I am willing to give us a second chance, but friendship is a two-way street, so what do you think?" She extended her paw to him and waited for him to shake it. For Aiden however, this situation was awfully familiar and instead of shaking her paw he shook his head in defeat.

"You are right, friendship is a two-way street." He smiled slightly and added. "And no, I don't like you." Renamon lowered her paw a bit after this, but still held it up though, in case the boy decided to shake it. "But please give me time to think about it. This decision is not taken lightly." With that said, Aiden rose to his feet and left the room. Nobody moved for a second and the fox stood their a bit dazed, but after a moment she shook it away and followed him. The others were about to follow as well, but before they could do so, Gennai stopped them.

"Let them talk... I think they need it."

"But Gennai, he can't just leave us here to _think about it! _He has to help us!" T.K exclaimed with emphasis on the last part, as if he would be disgusted and jumped up. Patamon, who was suited on top of his partners head, give a court nod and the others agreed as well.

"T.K is right!",Tai agreed, "All of us were sent here to help and now it's his turn. There is no other way!"

"Think about it.", Gennai answered them now, "If he would be forced to help, than he wouldn't do it with his heart, or because he decided to do it. You are right, that there is no other way Tai and I understand your displeasure and anger. You weren't given the chance to go back to your world, but things have changed and everyone has the right to choose his destiny, so does Aiden. I am certain, that he will make the right decision and you have to trust me in this one." He sighed and looked at everybody. "Please calm down now. Everything will be alright."

The tension in the room decreased noticeably after Gennai had stopped talking and everyone quieted themselves.

"I still feel a bit uneasy." Kari whispered, so that only Gatomon could hear her.

"Gennai is right Kari, everything will be alright." The cat whispered back and settled down in her partners lap. Even if the tension was lowered, an uncomfortable silence fell upon the group.

"So...Does Anyone want more tea?" Gennai offered into the silence, but received no answer. His gaze drifted from one to the next, but everybody seemed to be too deep in thoughts to acknowledge him. He put his own cup down onto the table and looked out of the window, where his eyes met the palm tree and shortly after the human leaning against it, with Renamon sitting besides him.

* * *

><p>Aiden left the room as quickly as he could and tried his best to ignore the stares of everyone as they followed him. He hurried out of the cramped place, turned into the hallway and from there he could relax a bit, being out of sight. The boy felt most uncomfortable in the room, never being a fan of crowded places, with many beings inside, so he sighed in relief as he stepped outside the house. The air smelled after the salt of the ocean and a light breeze tickled his skin. The boy enjoyed simply standing their and feeling the peacefulness of this place. He waited shortly and then strolled slowly towards the palm tree. Aiden lowered himself, so his back was resting against the bark of the tree and closed his eyes.<p>

He thought about all the things that happened in the last time, about his surrogate parents, as well as his dead parents, about his class mates in school and wondered if anyone would even care if he stayed in the Digiworld and never came back._ 'Sure Olivia and Derrick must be worried sick, but besides them...?' _It shocked him to know, that he didn't really cared, that nobody would miss him, save for his surrogate parents. His social contacts were equal to zero and recently he was too closed and repellent to have any friends or something similar. Most probably nobody in his school would even notice, that he was missing. Aiden was torn apart between the decision to go back to his world and to stay here and offer his help.

On the one side he didn't want his new mother and father to worry about him, but on the other he didn't cared at all, if they would.

He had no answer for this.

On the one side he wanted to help the Digiworld, but on the other he didn't want to risk his life for it. Every life is precious.

On one side he wanted to be friends with all of the DigiDestined and their partners, but on the other he thought himself still not ready to accept friendship from them.

The most important question though was, could he befriend Renamon? Could he let her come close to him? Was he ready for that?

He knew he had to talk to her sooner or later, but as he heard footsteps he knew, that it would be more likely sooner.

The steps came closer and closer until they finally stopped directly in front of him and as the boy opened his eyes he could see the form of the yellow fox standing in front of him.

"May I join you?" She asked, her eyes fixed on him, but without her icy stare.

"Of course." Aiden scooted a little bit to the side, so that the Digimon had place to sit down beside him. She lowered herself, with her back against the tree as well and then silence surrounded the two of them. In the distance the sunset could be seen, with the sun sinking further and further down the horizon and the last rays of sunlight glittered and sparkled on the water. The waves rolled lazily around and the spray of the ocean lightly brushed across their faces.

"Why are you so anxious and worried Aiden?" The fox tried to start a conversation after some minutes. Her head turned slightly, so that she could look at him. The boy in question though, didn't look at her, instead his gaze was fixed on the sunset.

"I am not worried and certainly not anxious." He replied bluntly. Renamon however ignored that comment.

"Why are you so afraid to let someone get close to you...little one." The fox almost whispered the last part and Aiden allowed himself a slight smile as he heard the nickname.

"You know Sunshine, I like 'little one' somehow, but I have no clue why." He chuckled shortly, but became serious once more as the vixen didn't join in. She had a look of sorrow etched on her features and, more importantly, great sadness.

"Do you still miss them so much?" She asked, with her gaze fixed on the ground.

Aiden froze at this and now he turned to face her only to see, that she averted his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"Do you miss your mother and father still so much? Or maybe a brother or sister or all together?" She asked again with a hushed voice, but Aiden responded nothing. He looked at her with an expression of utmost terror on his face and he could feel how tears welled up in his eyes. He fought to suppress them, though it was futile and for the first time in over two years he cried over his dead parents.

Renamon looked up, but was unsurprised to see him crying. She had done the same, after she realized, that she would never see her parents again. At first the Digimon had wondered why he was so reserved and indifferent, but after a while she realized, that it was the pain of loosing someone important, that made him so. She knew it, because she suffered from the exact same pain as well, although it subsided after a while.

"I was kidnapped back when I was still a child so to say and Gennai saved me and that is the reason why I want to help, but I never saw my parents again. Back then I strolled to far away from my hatching place and nest and invaded the territory of a Woodmon, who held me hostage for two months until I was finally saved." She sighed in sadness and looked up to meet Aidens eyes.

"Sometimes fate can be gruesome. My parents had warned me to never leave the nest, but I ignored them, because I thought I could handle myself. Obviously that wasn't the case and I paid the price for my arrogance. Even though Gennai told me, that my parents just never found me, I am sure, that they both are dead. I think they tried to save me, but for some reason they failed. All I know is, that I lost my parents as a newborn and that they lost their lives because of me."

Aiden looked at her the whole time she spoke, shocked that she would reveal something that personal to him, but he was incredibly grateful for that. Now he knew, that they could be friends and partners, because she understood how he felt.

As she finished, one lonely tear ran down her cheek and she too started to weep, but before she knew what happened, Aiden hugged her close. The fox was shocked at first and even the boy didn't knew why he acted that way, but it just felt right in the moment. So the two of them laid in each others arms, crying freely and weeping over their lost families. It felt good for Aiden to finally mourn his mother and father properly with tears. For him it was like all the sorrow and despair he held back for over two years now went away. So both Digimon and Human cried their sadness out and behind them the last rays of sunlight vanished, basking them for a short time in the light of dusk.

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><p>Aiden felt...free and for the first time since two years, he felt actually good with someone hugging him and being close to him. His head was still on her shoulder and he could feel the soft fur brushing against his face.<p>

The two of them had finally stopped shedding tears, but they still held themselves close, not wanting to miss the comfort and warmth from being close to each other. The light of the sun had long since vanished, leaving them in darkness, with the only light coming from the house, where the others still waited for them.

"My parents are dead for two years now." Aiden started, finally breaking the hug, but with a bit of discomfort doing so. He no longer was afraid to speak about his dead parents with her. She looked at him with an encouraging smile, silently wishing for him to continue.

"We were just driving back from holiday on the highway... To be honest, I don't really know how it happened, I must have displaced it sort of, because all I really know is, that my father, who was driving the car whilst my mother slept, suddenly shouted something and pulled to the side." He looked towards the house, where he could see some of the others, as well as Gennai, talking about something. "Later I found out, that apparently a ghost rider, or something like that, crashed into our car from the front."

He shook his head shortly. "Sarah and James Harper died in that night. The next day I woke up in some kind of hospital, with a few doctors standing beside my bed and telling me, that my parents were dead and that I was adopted by a married couple, which couldn't get children of their own. In short... I was shocked and from that point on I was so indifferent and uncaring. The only comfort I could find, was that my parents died instantly, so at least they didn't had to suffer... Macabre, I know."

Aiden looked back at Renamon and their gazes met. Green-brown eyes met a pair of sky blue ones and something in both of their minds made _click. _Both of them stared at one another for another few moments, until the boy finally spoke up.

"I thank you dearly for listening to me and for revealing your past to me so freely. I didn't expect you to be like that, but I think we understand each other now." With that said, Aiden scooted over once again and hugged her a second, this time in a friendly, manner. She responded nothing and just hugged back for a few moments until they separated again. Renamon offered him a smile and a chuckle as an answer.

"Wow, you're actually able to laugh." He teased her in an ironic way, then extended his hand for her to shake it. "You said, that friendship is a two-way street and you are absolutely right with that. I am sorry for my behavior until now and it was wrong to treat you the way I used to do. I can not make other people responsible for my parents death and I apologize, that it took me so long to figure this out. Even if all the people I treated badly can't hear this right now, I still feel like I have to apologize and now that I have done that, I swear to improve my behavior."

Aiden looked into her eyes once again, his hand still raised.

"Partners?" He simply asked with a smile and Renamon quickly shook it, but let go soon after, only to pull him into a third hug.

"I also have to apologize to you little one." She pressed a littler harder and they were now close enough to feel each others heart beating. "The way I acted towards you... It wasn't fair and I can hardly forgive myself for that, but if you willing to give me a second chance, then I swear, that I will improve myself in my behavior as well."

"Of course I forgive you, but there is really no need to feel sorry for the way you acted. I think I was the greater idiot from the two of us. I-" He began, but was interrupted by a beeping from his pants. He freed himself from the embrace and reached into his pocket and pulled out the little device, which marked him as a DigiDestined. There, on the little screen, was something written in black letters. He read it out loud.

**Tamer registerd**

**Name: Aiden Harper **

**Partner: Renamon**

"Why didn't it do it, the first time we met?" The boy wondered out loud.

"Most probably, because we became only now real friends and partners. I mean, just remember how we met each other the first time..." She answered him and he nodded in agreement, thinking that this was the reason. Aiden smiled slightly.

"Well Sunny, it's nice to have you by my side."

"Likewise little one, but, would you mind to just call me Renamon?" She averted his eyes, as she said that, but in response Aiden just chuckled shortly.

"No of course not Renamon."

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><p><strong>AN: Hey guys and first of all I apologize for the delay, but there was simply no way that I could finish this chapter on Saturday and from now on I won't be able to update once in a week. I think I was a little bit too cocky, when I said I could handle that. Obviously I can't. Otherwise read and review, criticism is allowed and welcomed and I hope you enjoyed reading. See you in the next chapter, but until then...**

_ Be Patient._


	5. Quick Notice

**Quick Notice**

Wow. It's already been a year, since I posted the last chap huh?

I just want to give you guys a quick update on what is going on in my life at the moment and why I didn't update in so long.

Well, to be honest my dad died last year shortly before Christmas and I lost interest in writing. It's still pretty tough for me and I can hardly realize it. Sometimes I even wonder why he's not coming home from work at his usual time. I never thought, that my parents would live on forever, heck I _know, _that death is a natural part of live, but actually losing your father?To be honest I never imagined, that it would be this hard..

One more thing and I should probably apologize for being so melodramatic, but I just have to say this: Love your parents every single moment of your life and make sure, that they know that and pray, that you have a chance to say goodbye to them. It all can be over in a heartbeat.

So, done with this sad shit and concerning the story I actually planned to have finished it by now and if all went by plan, there would be at least 200.000 words. Obviously that is not the fact, but please believe me, that I have not abandoned the story... I just needed a break so to say, or rather a very long vacation.

I will continue this eventually, but don't expect anything to soon and to all of you, who have waited so long for an update...I am deeply sorry, to disappoint you.

Yeah, that would be it for now. See you later then.


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